That Crazy Little Thing Called Love
by texaspeach
Summary: It started with a costume, continued with a crush, and ended with a fight. And it was all because of that crazy little thing called love.
1. Respect

Dedicated to **Linbug**.

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

* * *

**Chapter One: Respect**

The Halloween Dance was in full swing. What were presumably Orange Star High School students were milling around the gymnasium, clad in all sorts of strange costumes. A fairytale princess was fending off advances from a Grim Reaper. People had to look away from the disgusting sight of "Mr. Satan" and "Cell" making out in the corner (though a few wondered what kind of money they could get by taking pictures and sending them to the tabloids). Godzilla was making an attempt to dance with Marilyn Monroe. The "Great Saiyaman" wannabes – a surprising number – were currently having a pose-off in the middle of the dance floor, much to the amusement of one Son Gohan.

Gohan wasn't so socially challenged as to think that his poses (shamelessly stolen from the Ginyu Force) were "cool." (Okay, so maybe he had for a few days, but Videl's scathing comments had quickly disabused him of that notion.) And who could seriously think that shy, nerdy Gohan could do poses like that? Some of them took serious flexibility and everyone knew that nerds couldn't do the stretches in gym class, let alone the poses the real Great Saiyaman did. One of the Saiyamen demonstrated that very fact when he sank into the splits and subsequently ripped both his pants and his dignity to shreds when he couldn't get up again. The poor guy was booed out of the circle to go find another pair of pants.

"Disgusting, isn't it?" someone sneered from beside Gohan. He knew without looking that it was Videl. Her ki was the highest in the vicinity (besides him, of course); it wasn't hard to locate her. He grinned at her comment, but didn't look at her.

"If you think that's disgusting, look over there," he suggested mischievously, tilting his head towards the corner next to the food table. The strangled sound that issued from the girl's throat a second later let him know that his mission had succeeded.

"_Gohan_!" she exclaimed indignantly as she recovered from the sight of her father and his worst enemy kissing. "Why did you have to point that out to me?" Gohan turned to look at her, but the retort died on his lips when he saw what she was wearing.

Although he would never admit it, and especially not to Videl, Gohan had wondered what kind of body the girl had been hiding under those baggy shirts. He assumed that she was built like a fighter, obviously, but somehow he had never factored in that she really was a girl and so had different… assets than the fighters he was used to. The skirt, although long, had huge slits up both sides, showcasing her (very shapely, he noticed) legs. The upper portion of the costume, a dainty gold and brown bikini top, revealed that yes, Satan Videl was definitely a girl.

"Gohan, my eyes are up here," Videl growled, sounding irritated. Gohan's eyes shot up from where they had been tracing the slight muscle visible on her stomach. He blushed.

"S-sorry Videl," he stuttered, blushing harder. "It's just that…well, why are you wearing that?" His voice broke slightly and he cleared his throat embarrassedly. Videl scowled, fiddling with the end of her braid.

"My original costume somehow disappeared and Erasa 'just happened' to have this one," she replied. "If I'd gotten my way, I would've worn my regular clothes. Erasa forced me to be Princess Leia under pain of extreme humiliation. The outfit's less humiliating than what Erasa would reveal."

Strangely, that made perfect sense, Gohan thought as he nodded. Videl and Erasa had known each other since they were in kindergarten. Erasa was bound to know every embarrassing thing that Videl had ever done.

"That outfit looks familiar. Who are you supposed to be?" Videl queried, obviously eager to change the subject. He let her, shifting his arms a bit to make sure his muscles were well hidden.

"Remember the Delivery Boy?" he asked. Her eyes widened as it finally clicked. She began to circle him as she inspected his costume.

"I'm impressed," she announced, coming to a stop in front of him and placing her hands on her hips. "This looks exactly like that kid's outfit," she added suspiciously, blue eyes narrowing. Gohan, who had studiously been avoiding looking at her lest his eyes stray somewhere they shouldn't, blinked in surprise and a bit of panic. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't exactly tell her that a seven-foot-tall green alien from the planet Namek had materialized it out of thin air for him! He needed to think of something, and fast.

"Um…" Oh, smooth, Gohan, real smooth. "Um, my mom made it!" he finally blurted out. "She's really good at making things like that." Videl look unconvinced.

"Right…" she drawled skeptically. Before she could start grilling him, however, a few jocks strutted over to them, one putting an arm around Videl's shoulders. Gohan was stunned at the guy's audacity; no one did something like that to Videl and escaped unscathed. Yet Videl merely stood there, not even trying to get out of the guy's one-armed embrace.

"Hey Videl," the jock said in what he probably thought was a seductive voice, "why don't you ditch nerd boy here and come with us instead?" He gave her a suggestive look. His two friends leered at her. Videl gave all of them a disgusted look.

"No thanks," she replied, shrugging the guy's arm off. The jock didn't give up and resettled his arm across her shoulders again.

"C'mon Videl, you'll have more fun with us," he persisted. "You can even dance with me."

Videl rolled her eyes. "Be still my heart," she deadpanned, shrugging the arm off for the second time.

Still not deterred, the guy lifted his arm again as he sneaked a peek at her exposed upper torso. He hit a snag, however, when the offending appendage was caught in what felt like a steel trap. But it was no steel trap – Gohan had reached out and grabbed his arm tightly, eyes smoldering in rage.

The demi-Saiyan had stayed quiet throughout the exchange thus far, confident that Videl would put the idiots in their place – after all, that was her job description during school. He was therefore understandably confused when all the girl did was stand there, aside from getting the jock's arm off her shoulders. Why wasn't she fighting back? But when the guy started eyeing her like a piece of meat, Gohan started to get angry.

Respect was something that had been stressed to him ever since he could remember. Respect his parents. Respect his elders. Respect his fellow fighters. Respect his enemy. Respect men, women, children, aliens, rich, poor, large, slender, genius, insane, and so on. "Respect," his mother once told him, "goes a long way in getting you where you want to go in life. Treat everyone you come across with respect, regardless of how they treat you."

That this person was acting like Videl was a trophy to be won was disrespectful. Videl did so much for the city – she fought criminals, saved people from life-threatening situations, rescued cats out of trees… She helped so many people, and did she ask for anything in return? Nothing. And yet many of the boys at OSH treated her like she was dirt. All they wanted was to say they dated the daughter of Mr. Satan, either that or they wanted to sleep with her. It was disgusting.

Gohan tightened his grip on the jock's arm, uncharacteristically enjoying the boy's wince of pain. "She said 'no'," Gohan said calmly, pulling Videl behind him with the other arm. The jock futilely tried to wrench free of Gohan's grasp. The demi-Saiyan let go at one particularly fierce tug and the other boy flew backwards a good five feet. Gohan stared impassively down at him. "You should leave," he said, and his tone brooked no argument. The jock tucked tail and ran, his two flunkies right behind him.

A tap on his arm made him turn around to face Videl, who was scowling. "I could have handled that, you know," she informed him tartly. He raised an eyebrow.

"You shouldn't have needed to in the first place," he replied evenly, tugging his cape over his head. He ignored her gasp when she saw his muscular frame, instead focusing on tearing the cloth from the armor beneath it. "It wouldn't have happened if you weren't wearing that." He nodded his head towards her outfit.

He finally detached the two pieces. Carefully laying the armor on the floor, he then proceeded to unceremoniously shove the collar over his sputtering friend's head. The cape was far too long for the girl, but it was better than her torso being almost completely exposed for the world to see.

"Gohan, why did you do that?" Videl practically screeched. Despite her question, she tugged the cape more snugly around her shoulders. Gohan bent down to retrieve the useless armor.

"That situation won't happen again if people can't see you," he replied, turning away to go to the door. "Don't move," he added, looking over his shoulder. "I'll be back after I get this out of the way." He began to walk away, leaving his poleaxed friend behind.

Videl watched him go, clutching the material tightly and making sure that her torso was covered. Where had that come from? She had no idea that Gohan could be so… confrontational. And since when was he built like a Greek statue? 'I'll figure you out yet, Son Gohan,' she thought. 'But first…' A bright shock of blonde hair caught her attention.

"ERASA, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

* * *

Read and review!

~tp


	2. Crush

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Crush**

Videl stayed away from Gohan the week after the Halloween Dance. Every time she glanced at him, she remembered how he had defended her at the dance. Every time she thought about that incident, her cheeks turned rosy and butterflies that had never been there before started fluttering madly. All these symptoms – the avoidance, the blushing, the funny feeling in her stomach – pointed to the conclusion that she was suffering from what Erasa termed a "crush."

That was impossible, of course. Satan Videl did not "crush" on boys. Or rather, she did, but "crushing" included fists and kicks and violent physical contact, not hugging and kissing and mushy stuff like that. Satan Videl was tough and strong. A crush of the Erasa kind would send that image tumbling down. She didn't need the aggravation that a boy would inevitably bring into her life. People would start seeing her more as a girl and not as a crime fighter, especially her father. Her father would make a huge deal out of all of it, insisting on fighting the boy who dared to come near his daughter with intentions of courtship. At this rate, she wouldn't get married until she was in her mid-fifties if she was lucky, not that she wanted to get married in the first place. No way.

Until these strange symptoms went away, however, she would just have to avoid Gohan. She had managed this successfully for the past week and now she only had a few minutes left before she was free for the weekend. The bell signaling the end of the period rang and she leapt out of her seat. She was almost in the clear.

Famous last words.

"Videl?" The voice was soft, almost a whisper, but it made her cringe the slightest bit anyway. So close! She turned around to face him, commanding those damn butterflies in her stomach to stop flitting about.

"Yes, Gohan?" she replied coolly, hoping her face wasn't flooding with color. He flinched back slightly and her conscience twinged a bit.

"A-are you all right?" he asked. "You've been going off on your own all week… I just wanted to know if you're okay." He stuttered to a halt in the face of her incredulous stare.

Of course he wouldn't understand what was going on, Videl suddenly realized. Why would he? He was ignorant of even the most obvious social skills where teenagers were concerned. She watched him shuffle his feet awkwardly and fumble with his fingers embarrassedly and felt the heat rush into her face as she realized that he really was worried about her well-being.

"I'm fine, Gohan," she blurted out, spinning around and practically running out the door. "I'll see you on Monday!" she called over her shoulder, hoping that he hadn't seen the treacherous blood in her cheeks. She uncapsulated her jet copter and hopped into it, leaving so fast that she didn't notice Gohan's shoulders slump dejectedly as he began to walk away from the school.

***

Bulma watched Gohan play with Trunks and Goten, blue eyes narrowed. She'd known Gohan since he was four years old. She'd been in outer space with him, helped him with the android problems, and helped him get through his father's death when Chi-Chi was a head case herself. He'd said nothing was wrong, but she knew him better than that. A simple "I'm fine, Bulma" wasn't going to cut it.

"Trunks, Goten!" she yelled out the door. "There's cookies and milk out on the counter in the kitchen if you want them!" Two blurs, one lavender and blue and the other black and orange, raced past her and into the maze that was Capsule Corporation. Gohan followed them at a much more sedate pace but found himself barred at the door. He looked down the foot or so to Bulma's face.

"What's wrong, Bulma?" he asked confusedly.

"Are you ready to tell me what's wrong now?" she asked, ignoring his question. He shifted uncomfortably, eyes looking at everything except her. She gave an irritated huff and he sighed, shoulders slumping. She grinned in triumph and let him through.

They walked aimlessly through the large house, Gohan explaining what had happened at the Halloween Dance and Videl's subsequent avoidance strategy. "I just don't know what's wrong with her," he finished glumly as they neared the kitchen. "We were fine the rest of the dance, but when she came in Monday, it was like I didn't exist." The blue-haired woman couldn't help it and let out a short chuckle. The teenager scowled at her. "I'm glad that you enjoy all my troubles," he said sourly, trying his best to fight the smile tugging at his lips.

"Gohan, can't you tell that she likes you?" Bulma demanded. She lost her restraint upon seeing Gohan's gob-smacked expression and started laughing hysterically as they reached the kitchen door.

They entered the war zone that was usually known as the kitchen where Trunks and Goten were fighting over the last cookie, having already demolished the entire six dozen sets that Mrs. Briefs had made just an hour previous. Seizing the opportunity, Gohan reached over and plucked the cookie out of the seven- and eight-year-old's hands before popping it into his mouth, showing his enjoyment of the small treat a little too much for the youngsters' liking. They pounced on him, trying their hardest to beat him up.

"All right, you three," Bulma finally said, "if you're going to keep doing that, then go outside." She tilted her head to the side slightly as Gohan stood up easily, holding each child by a leg. "Why don't you go to the park? It's a nice day. And Gohan, think about what I said, all right?" Gohan looked confused again, but nodded anyway and left the room, putting Goten and Trunks up on either shoulder. The blue-haired woman watched them go before laughing again at Gohan's predicament. One thing was for sure: It was definitely going to be interesting to see what was going to happen!

***

Videl walked morosely through the park in West City, trying to rid her head of thoughts of Gohan. She'd come here because she was sure that she wouldn't meet him here of all places, but anything she saw reminded her of him. When she looked at the clouds she remembered how they picked shapes out of the clouds one day during lunch. When she looked at the pavement beneath her feet she heard him saying how he hated the city because nothing was natural there. She saw the grass and saw how the messy blades looked so much like Gohan's hair, all wild and sticking straight up. Since when had she turned into one of those locker room girls that she despised so much? The ones who only talked about how dreamy so-and-so looked today or how hot such-and-such was. Why was she acting like this?

Before she could answer her question (not that she had a clue as to the answer other than the crush theory), she was bowled over by something. What it was, she had no clue until she heard a very familiar voice call out, "Trunks! Goten! Watch where you're going!" A tall shadow blocked out the sun and a large hand extended towards her. "Sorry about that…" Gohan began, but trailed off when he got a good look at just who it was sitting on the sidewalk. "Videl?" he asked faintly. "Wow… I've never seen you with your hair down…"

For her part, Videl just blinked up at him, cursing whatever it was that had put her and Gohan in the same park on the other side of the planet. Finally she grabbed his hand, not wanting to be rude (even though she'd never worried about it before). Before he could tighten his grip, however, she hissed and drew the hand back, cradling it to her chest. Now that her shock at seeing Gohan here of all places had faded, she could feel the pain pulsing through her wrist. She'd probably just sprained her wrist, and the wrist of her writing hand at that.

"Videl?" Gohan crouched down next to her, his face worried. His fingers were surprisingly gentle as he took her hand gently and examined it. The girl willed the butterflies away and succeeded, if only barely. She watched in fascination as the other teenager checked her wrist as professionally as any doctor could.

"Where'd you learn how to do this?" she asked, forgetting about her avoidance policy for the moment. He glanced at her as he carefully helped her to her feet and walked her over to a bench.

"Just a second," he replied, turning to the right. "Trunks, Goten! Come here!" He offered her an apologetic smile as he took her hand again. "My brother and his friend are extremely excitable, I'm afraid," he said. "One of them ran into you." At her raised eyebrow, his own eyebrow quirked before a look of realization came over his face. "My father was a fighter," he said. "I learned first-aid from my mother after he came home badly injured and she wasn't there to patch him up." Videl smiled slightly, though it came out as more of a grimace. Gohan looked around impatiently.

Suddenly two boys appeared in front of them out of nowhere. One had purple hair and blue eyes and was wearing a blue gi. His face wore an arrogant look for one so young. The other had black eyes and black hair sticking out in every direction and wore a bright orange gi. His wide smile was so contagious that Videl's grimace morphed into a true smile. That one was definitely Gohan's brother; they had the same smile.

"Trunks, go get some ice. I'm sure that it was you that knocked her over in the first place," Gohan said sternly. Videl watched through lowered lashes in fascination as when the purple-haired boy looked mutinous, Gohan merely gave him a look and the boy deflated and left, muttering.

"Nii-chan? Can I go with him?" The black-haired boy ("Goten," if she remembered correctly) pouted, looking up at his brother with big puppy-dog eyes. Gohan sighed.

"Go on," he relented. "But hurry back." Goten nodded excitedly before rushing off after his friend.

"Are you sure that you should do that?" Videl asked. "They're not very old." For some reason, Gohan laughed.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "They'll be fine."

An awkward silence settled over the two. Gohan desperately wanted to ask the girl if she really did like him like Bulma said she did, but knew better than to ask. Videl became aware that he was still holding her hand, but didn't say anything because that mushy part of her that had been growing steadily since last week was squealing in delight. They continued to sit in silence, neither aware of the photographer hiding in the bushes and snapping pictures galore of the World Champion's daughter holding hands with a boy in a park on the other side of the world. This was front-page news, especially after Mr. Satan had publically declared that any boy who wanted to date Videl had to defeat him in a fight first. This kid was scrawny and probably wouldn't last two seconds in the ring, let alone beat Mr. Satan.

Trunks and Goten finally returned with a bag of ice. They were both wearing overly-innocent expressions. They were also both smothering giggles as much as young children were able to. Gohan's eyes narrowed as he gently placed the bag on Videl's wrist. What were they up to?

"What did you two do?" he asked sternly. The boys turned wide eyes on their idol.

"We didn't do anything!" Goten exclaimed.

"Nothing!" Trunks echoed. "Can we go over to the swing set, Gohan?"

Gohan's eyes narrowed further. All his senses were screaming that the two mischievous boys were up to something. The question was, what? He glanced at Videl, who shrugged. He looked back at Trunks and Goten, who were waiting expectantly. "All right," he agreed, "but no funny business."

The two boys cheered and raced over to the swings in the near distance. Gohan and Videl followed more slowly, Videl keeping the bag of ice on her wrist and Gohan hovering over her protectively, though he didn't realize that he was doing it. They both sat on the only bench not covered in baby bags and backpacks. Hassled parents glanced up and then away.

Children of all ages played on the playground. Trunks and Goten were indeed at the swings, though Gohan knew that it wouldn't stay that way for long. The two boys got bored very easily. He was still concerned about what they, or perhaps more accurately Trunks, had up their sleeves, but not so much as before. They knew to behave themselves in public. He was more concerned about Videl, who hadn't said a word since her question about the boys' safety.

"Are you all right Videl?" he asked. Apparently he'd asked that question too often, seeing annoyance cross her face.

"I'm fine," she said. It was true; the ice was numbing the pain admirably. Her wrist could be twisted instead of sprained, which was a good thing. Twists healed much faster than sprains, after all.

Hair fell into her eyes and she flicked it away irritably. With nary a second thought Gohan tucked the strand behind her ear. She froze and he did as well, hand still tangled in her hair. The little part of her that had just quit squealing about him holding her hand was now swooning at the thought of what could possibly happen now. Their faces drew closer and closer together, eyes shutting of their own accord as the butterflies in her stomach flew into a frenzy. She could feel his breath crossing her lips… Their lips brushed together tentatively.

"Ew!" Goten cried. "Daddy, that's gross! Mommy has cooties!"

Gohan and Videl sprang apart, both blushing madly, though whether it was because of the kiss or Goten's words neither could quite tell. The other parents were looking at them like they wanted to laugh but couldn't because they wanted to be polite. Goten bounced over to them, one small hand grabbing Videl's uninjured one and the other grabbing Gohan's. "Can we go home now Mommy?" he questioned innocently.

Trunks sauntered over to them. "Can I ride on your shoulders, Dad?" he asked, a smirk crossing his face and making him look eerily like his true father.

"You two are so dead!" Gohan hissed as he lifted Trunks onto his shoulders. Both he and Videl were still red-faced and looking anywhere but each other. Goten laughed merrily and Trunks merely smirked again. The eyes of most of the parents followed the small "family" until they were out of sight.

No one noticed the photographer quivering with excitement at the juicy scoop that he'd just found.

* * *

Read and review!

~tp


	3. Scandal

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Scandal**

The gym was empty save for the black-haired girl in the corner beating the stuffing out of the punching bag. It had taken one look from the other occupants to realize that if they didn't leave, they would be Satan Videl's next victim – er, sparring partner. They had quickly and quietly filed out, leaving her to take out her frustrations on an inanimate object rather than a living one.

On any other day, she would have been shocked that not only did Gohan know _the_ Bulma Briefs, he also was obviously trusted enough to watch her son. On any other day, she would have interrogated her classmate until he pissed his pants. On any other day, she quite possibly would have asked Goten questions about his brother until _he_ pissed his pants.

But this was definitely not any other day. All Videl wanted to do was to get as far away from Son Gohan as possible. But no matter how physically far away she was from him, her thoughts revolved around the incident from earlier that day. Her first kiss. And not only had it been her first kiss, but it had been with Gohan, the geeky boy with practically no social skills to speak of. Somehow she had envisioned her first kiss (yes, even Satan Videl had imagined what her first kiss would be like) to be with someone less… nerdy.

But even she could admit that despite the geekiness, Gohan could be considered quite a catch. He was a genius. Though he didn't seem to be athletically inclined, she had seen that underneath the horrendous clothing he had a body that would make most of the guys at her father's gym green with envy. He had a great personality: nice sense of humor, polite, and respectful. He even had a bit of a chivalrous streak in him if the Halloween Dance was any indication, not to mention that he definitely knew how to kiss. What girl wouldn't want to date him?

After finally reducing the bag to a pile of mangled sand and cloth, she wiped her face off with a towel and left for her room. She paused as she heard her father's drunken shouts at the television, rolling her eyes as she realized that he was watching old tapes of himself. Again. Her father really was an idiot. She loved the man, but he had become egocentric in the years since the Cell Games. He really needed to be taken down a peg or two.

But back to her main problem. Namely, what she would do when she saw Gohan tomorrow. Should she avoid him again? Act like nothing had happened? Kiss the hell out of him? She could admit to herself that her crush was more than just a crush. If she were honest with herself, she really wanted to kiss him again. But what would he do if she did that? Would he push her away? Kiss her back? Not do anything because he'd be freaking out? Somehow she could see him doing that. The image made her smile, even if it involved her being embarrassed because he wasn't responding.

She turned the shower on and undressed, stepping in when the water was warm. Dumping some shampoo into her hand, she massaged it into her hair thoughtfully. She could call Erasa, but she'd rather not bring the blonde into this… whatever it was unless she had to, mostly because she didn't want to endure Erasa's smug "I-told-you-so's" just yet.

By the time she was done in the shower, she had decided that she would just run with what Gohan did. If he chose to avoid her, she would do the same to him. If he kissed her in the middle of class, she would respond in kind. If he ignored what had happened, she could do it too. It wasn't like anyone else knew what had happened, right?

How wrong she was.

***

Monday rolled around and with it came Videl's eighteenth birthday. She was actually somewhat excited; though being the daughter of the most famous man in the world had its perks, being legal in the eyes of the law was even better. Now she could do whatever she wanted and her father had no say in the matter. She could date Goh- a boy if she wanted and the World Champ couldn't do anything!

As she approached the school, she noticed a large group of people fighting to try to get in. Seeing the cameras as they followed her descent onto the school roof, she sighed irritably. Great, the vultures were here to interview her on what it felt like being eighteen. As she carefully landed on the roof, Erasa practically flew out of the door that led to the staircase. Videl raised an eyebrow. What was she doing up here?

The blonde rushed to the coptor and nearly ripped the door off its hinges in her hurry to shove the newspaper in her hands. "You need to read this," Erasa panted, bending over and clutching her side.

"Fold your hands behind your head," Videl commanded absently, glancing at the newspaper that had been so unceremoniously handed to her. She froze, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the paper again. A picture of her and Gohan kissing graced the front page, a large headline over it. Disbelieving, she began to read.

_Satan Videl: Mother at Twelve?_

_Could this be possible? Satan Videl, mother at the tender age of twelve years old? Impossible, one says. Even Mr. Satan himself couldn't contain news of this magnitude. And yet it seems that that is exactly what happened six years ago._

_Incriminating photos from an anonymous source were sent to the editor here at the head office of Purgatory News, photos that seem to prove this seemingly impossible claim. In them, Ms. Satan is walking around a park in West City, holding hands with and kissing a formerly unknown teenager and looking after two young boys. Though the boys' names are unknown, the teenager is none other than the son of former World Martial Arts Champion Son Goku. Son Gohan apparently chose not to follow in his father's footsteps and instead focused more on his academic career, for he received one hundred percent on all of his entrance exams and is at the top of every class. One can only wonder how such an academically-inclined young man ever caught the attention of one of the foremost female martial artists in the world, and at such a young age as well._

_The two boys that accompanied Ms. Satan and Mr. Son are almost certainly their illegitimate twins. The twins are fraternal, but one has Ms. Satan's blue eyes and his maternal grandmother's hair, while the other is an almost exact replica of his renowned paternal grandfather. Our source also confirmed that they called Ms. Satan and Mr. Son "Mommy" and "Daddy," respectively._

_What more proof is needed? There is no other reason why they would be on the other side of the planet, away from people who know them, unless they truly are parents trying to keep their children away from the publicity that they would surely garner if the world knew about them._

_-- Gofer Minion_

By the end of the article, Videl was shaking. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, though she didn't know if they were from rage or humiliation. She crumpled the paper up viciously before throwing it over the side of the school and marching towards the door. Erasa followed behind her anxiously.

"Videl?" she asked tentatively, wincing as her friend slammed the door open. "Come on Videl, people won't believe this. Everyone knows that you've never looked at a guy like _that_." The blonde dearly wanted to ask about the picture but knew better than to ask. She winced again as a steady stream of curses came from Videl's direction. Definitely not a good time to ask.

Videl slammed the door of her classroom open and walked quickly to her seat. Her classmates had all abruptly stopped talking at her grand entrance, but the whispers soon started up again. She could hear words like "slut" and "whore" being tossed around and knew that they were being applied to her. Tears unexpectedly came to her eyes again and she put her head down quickly in case anyone else had seen. "Happy birthday to me," she muttered bitterly, resting her head in her hands. "I'm going to kill that reporter if I get the chance." The fact that she was now eligible for the death penalty crossed her mind and she almost laughed at the irony.

A hand rested briefly on her shoulder. "Hey, I don't believe any of it," Sharpener's voice said. His usual smug tone was replaced by a reassuring one, though it didn't help much. However, it _was_ nice to know that Sharpener wasn't always an ass. The girl nodded slightly and for once the blond took the hint, sitting down in his seat without anymore comments. The teacher came in soon after and, after some sharp comments to the people still talking about the article, began teaching math like the rumor about Videl's supposed pregnancy didn't exist.

Halfway through the lesson, Videl realized that Gohan hadn't shown up yet. Was he hiding out because of the paper? If he was… oh, he was going to get it, leaving her to face the press alone. She began to get angry again, the anger covering up the hurt that her classmates' ready acceptance of the truth of the stupid article had caused. She began to imagine the different ways in which she could torture the idiot.

The girl was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the door open or hear a certain dark-haired boy talk to the teacher before dragging something into the classroom. She did hear the increased volume of talking that Gohan's entrance caused however, and looked up to see what had caused the commotion.

A large box stood in the middle of the classroom. Gohan stood next to it, staring steadily at Videl. He smiled when she finally noticed him. "Happy Birthday, Videl," he said softly. "You should open this now." She stared at him, completely flummoxed by his attitude. He was acting like he hadn't seen the article at all! Then again, it was possible that he hadn't, seeing as he lived in the middle of nowhere. But as she slowly got up and began walking down the stairs, she could see the look in his eyes. He was definitely angry, though he hid it behind his normal easy-going smile. She relaxed slightly, happy at the realization that he hadn't abandoned her to face this alone.

"Open the box," he ordered. "Trust me, you'll like what's inside." After raising a curious eyebrow Videl complied, ripping the paper off of the box. With nothing to hold it together, the box fell apart to reveal a shaking man standing on the cardboard. The girl turned to Gohan, eyes now narrowed. Gohan grinned in a feral manner, making him look, dare she say it, almost sexy. She stowed the thought away for another time.

"This is Gofer Minion," he replied simply. "I thought you might like to have a talk with him."

Videl's eyes widened before she launched herself at Gohan, dragging his head down to hers and kissing the hell out of him. A second passed before Gohan began to kiss back; he'd clearly been caught by surprise. They ignored Sharpener's moan of despair and the gasps of surprise around them.

Videl pulled back slightly when the need for air became an issue. "You," she said softly and fiercely, "are the best boyfriend _ever_!" Gohan's eyes widened for a brief moment before he gave her a smile.

"I wasn't aware that we were official," he said teasingly. Videl rolled her eyes and socked him on the arm.

"I thought that we'd been official for a long time," she retorted. "We apparently have twins, you know."

"I saw that," her newly-christened boyfriend admitted. "Why else would I bring him here? What do you say we have a talk with Mr. Minion?" Videl grinned at him before turning to the clearly frightened man, cracking her knuckles in an intimidating fashion.

"Gladly."

***

The talk with Gofer Minion didn't take long. Between Videl's questioning and Gohan's intimidating stare, the man admitted to making up almost the entire story. The only research that he had done was seeing who the mysterious teenager was. By the end of the impromptu interrogation the poor man had nearly wet his pants from fear. The story hadn't taken long to circulate throughout the school and by third period everyone knew that Gohan and Videl were dating and that the majority of the article was a load of bull.

Almost everyone knew, that was.

Lunch had just begun when a loud roar was heard across the school grounds. It was possibly the most famous roar in the world when it didn't sound completely furious. Gohan, Videl, Erasa, and Sharpener looked up from their picnic under the tree in surprise as Mr. Satan stomped towards them in all his black afro'd glory.

"VIDEL! WHAT IS GOING ON BETWEEN YOU AND THAT BOY?" he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth as he came to a halt in front of his daughter and her friends. Gohan wiped his face in disgust. "YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T DATE ANYONE UNLESS THEY CAN DEFEAT ME IN A FIGHT!" Videl rolled her eyes.

"Dad, I'm eighteen," she said flatly. "I can do whatever I want."

"I DON'T CARE HOW OLD YOU ARE!" the man yelled. "YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER AND YOU WILL OBEY MY RULES!" He continued to shout incoherently. Videl growled and began to get up. Gohan pulled her back down easily.

"It'll be a lot easier if he agrees to this," he said over her protests. "I'll fight him. After all," he added, letting a smug grin escape, "I am Saiyaman." Videl froze at the words. The two blonds had heard his words as well and stared at him, completely shocked. Gohan stood up and walked over to his girlfriend's raving father.

"If it means that I can date Videl, I'll fight you," he declared. Mr. Satan stopped in mid-rant, staring down at the boy who dared to date Videl. He looked familiar… The article said that he was Son Goku's son, but the champion recognized him from somewhere else.

"Why do you look familiar?" the man demanded.

Gohan smiled mysteriously, moving closer. "Let's just say that I know who really defeated Cell," he said softly, not wanting the others to hear what he was saying. His eyes flashed to teal for a moment to make sure that the man knew that he was being serious, and the color drained out of Mr. Satan's face. "I think that you owe me a favor for not telling the truth about the Cell Games all these years."

"W-what do y-you want me t-to do?" the big man stuttered.

"Let me date Videl," was the simple reply. "We fight, I let you win so you can keep your reputation, and you graciously let me date your daughter anyway because I was brave enough to stand up to you." Gohan's eyes hardened slightly. "Or I can defeat and humiliate you. Your choice." He watched Mr. Satan's struggle and was satisfied when he heard the resigned sigh. 'I win,' he thought smugly. He knew the way he was acting was uncharacteristic, but he'd listened to the man badmouth Goku for seven years. It was time for some payback.

Suddenly Mr. Satan let out his trademark laugh. "All right then kid, if you think that you can take me on, then let's go!" He gave his trademark roar and launched himself at Gohan. They traded blows for a few minutes, Gohan staring at him the entire time as if to say, "This is all you've got?" Mr. Satan growled in irritation; just because he wasn't some freak like this Gohan kid didn't mean that he couldn't fight! The man pushed himself even harder, wanting to land just one punch.

For his part, Gohan was actually impressed with his opponent's talent. It was clear that Mr. Satan had been training hard in the past seven years. Seeing the Z fighters' inhuman fighting techniques had probably spurred him on in trying to attain their level. Maybe one day Gohan could teach Mr. Satan how to fight like them.

Right now though, it was time to end this fight. It was pointless and they both knew it. Gohan let his guard down and allowed his opponent to land a punch on his jaw and send him flying backwards. He made a big show of trying to get up and failing. "All right," he said in what he hoped was a pained tone, "I give up."

His friends' and girlfriend's jaws dropped even further at this declaration than they had when the two fighters started fighting. None of them could believe that Gohan had just lost to a man who couldn't do all the things that Saiyaman could do. He had to have lost on purpose, but why did he do it? Their question remained unanswered.

Mr. Satan stared down at Gohan for a moment before laughing loudly. Striding over to the teenager sitting on the ground, the champion hoisted him up and shook his hand. "You're the first person who ever tried to fight me to date my daughter and you gave me a good workout," he said loudly. "You can date my daughter even though you didn't beat me." Gohan stared at him in fake surprise.

"T-thank you, sir!" he said happily. "I won't hurt Videl, sir, I promise!"

"You better not!" Mr. Satan said sternly. "If you do, I'll hurt you!"

Gohan nodded sharply, knowing that the man meant it. He had no doubt that Videl's father would try to hurt him if something happened and Videl got hurt physically or emotionally. Mr. Satan nodded back and turned, cape billowing majestically around him as he walked away. Gohan squared his shoulders, turning back to the three people sitting underneath the tree.

As he fended off questions about his strange abilities, the demi-Saiyan reflected on what had led him to be sitting here, an arm around his girlfriend and enjoying time with what his mother termed "normal" people. He'd helped out a girl, kissed her in a park, helped her scare the hell out of a man who had printed lies about them, and fought the World Martial Arts Champion to date her. And it was all because of that crazy little thing called love.

* * *

Read and review!

~tp


End file.
